Apparatus for mechanically hacking brick.



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APPLICATION FILED IAN. I3. I9I4.

Patented Oct 2,1917

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RAYMOND C. PENFIELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR MECHANICALLY HACKING BRICK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

Original application led November 29, 1912, Serial No. 733,979. Divided and this application filed January 13, 1914. Serial No. 811,808.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, RAYMOND C. PEN- rinLn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus -for Mechanically Hacking Brick, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is especially applicable in the manufacture of wire-cut brick, wherein one or more streams of brick material are formed from a usual die and said streams are cut into appropriate lengths or widths by a suitable wire cutting reel, the brick material then being in the form of separate green bricks. After being so formed, it is customary to pile the green brick into an open formation suitable for drying and to transfer' such brick to a drier, from whence they are taken to the kiln for the subsequent burning operation. Heretofore mechanical lifters to engage and lift the green brick from the off-bearing belt, as soon as the same had been formed b y the cutting reel, have been employed, which lifters either clamp the brick on each side with sufficient lifting force to lift it, or which act to insert a rod or arm below the brick to lift it from underneath. This methodl of lifting green brick has been objectionable, because such brick were soft and were apt to be distorted by the clamping action or through being lifted by a small rod or arm engaging thc under surface, as well as being slow, cumbersome, and capable of operating upon a comparatively small number of brick at one time. Such prior lifters also have required considerable mechanism to actuate the brickengaging devices, and were necessarily complex in construction.

It is an ob'ect of my present invention to obviate the difficulties above noted and to provide means for hacking brick mechanically, and directly from the off-bearing belt, by lifting the green brick solely from the top, providing a novel form of brick-engaging apparatus which will lift the brick Without danger of distorting their form, with out any clamping devices to apply pressure on the bottom or sides, but by penetrating the brick material and thereby securing a firm hold. In its preferred form, my apparatus comprises a plurality of needles or wire-like members of relatively small diameter, which may easily pierce the green brick from any point or angle and preferably frorn the top surface, securing a firm hold .and without deforming the brick or marring the same other than by leaving a plurality of small holes in one side. These holes may be advantageously employed as additional plaster-holding means if desired, or the face of the brick containing such holes may be turned in and concealed from view inl ordinary brickuvork. By means of such a brick-engaging device, a lifting apparatus of any suitable width, covering a number of parallel streams of brick mate rial, may be used and of any suitable length, thus being adapted to mechanically lift a relatively large number of green brick from the off-bearing belt of the brick-making machine at a single operation. By having such `mechanical lifter work entirely from above the brick, it is possible to employ a simple and strong device and to handle the same easily and expeditiously. I believe that a brick-lifting apparatus adapted to lift brick by engagement thereof from the top surface only, is a distinct novelty in the art to which this invention relates, and I desire to claim the same broadly.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating a preferred form of the invention,

Figure 1 is a side view of a lifting apparatus in position to lift a row of brick;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the device for lifting a single brick;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View of the apparatus illustrating the lifter applied to brick in four parallel rows; and

Fig. 1l is a plan view of the portion illustrated in Fig. 3.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention herein shown, I. preferably utilizo a plurality of'lifting needles which are arranged to enter the top surface of a green brick near opposite ends of the brick, which needles are swung in a curved path, so that the opposite needles approach cach other and thus secure a firm hold upon the brick material, so as to lift it when the entire ap paratus is raised, and to -hold each brick in its relative position during such lifting and mechanical hacking.

'Referring to Fig. 1, a suitable framework is shown, comprising parallel longitudinal bars 1 and 2, rigidly secured to uprights 3 and 4v, which are united to a cross-bar 5 and carry a hook 6 or the like, by means of which the entire apparatus may be lifted by a crane or tackle. Bolted to the bars 1 and 2 are a plurality of depending brackets 7 and 8, arranged in pairs, as shown in Fig. 3, and each pair carrying a transverse shaft 9, Which serves Vas a pivot on which the needlecarrying arms may rotate. Secured to the brackets 'Z and 8, or formed integrally therewith, is a plate or stripper 10 With its lower surface in a horizontal plane and adapted to rest dir ectly upon the top surface of the brick to be lifted. This stripper 10 is of suitable length to cover the entire Width of the streams of brick material upon which the apparatus is designed to engage, and at one end is provided with a guard 11 to facilitate the accurate positioning of the apparatus upon the brick to be lifted. l preferably employ a plurality of lifting needles adapted to engage each brick, and have found that by arranging said needles in pairs at either end of the brick to be lifted, saidneedles may be of comparatively small diameter and yet Will secure a firm hold upon the, brick material. By making such needle-lifters heavier or flattened, and somewhat spear-like, it is yfeasible to engage and lift brick by means of a less number than four such lifters as'illustrated in the drawings. The width of thev stripper 10 is sufficient to secure a firm bearing upon the top surface kof the brick with which it is in contact, Without covering all of the brick surface, although if desired the stripper could cover the entire top surface, and the lifting needles could Work through holes therein. of the lifting needles by holding the brick firmly in position While the needles are Withdrawn, and serve as guardsryvhenv the having the same radius asthe distance of the edge portion of the flangeto which they are respectively secured, to the shaft4 9, so that as said arms 12 and 13 are rocked upon 'Y thefshaft 9, the needles 16 vwill follow a similar arc of movement .to that of the flanges 1e and 15. l-t nWill, be understood that" as the arm 412, for example, is moved to the left in Fig. 2, and the arm 13 to the lright, the needles 1-6 will be lifted abo-vel The strippers facilitate removal K Y The needles 16V` are preferably curved in the arc of a circle,

the lower surface of the stripper 10. rlhen when thev stripper 10 is lowered in position upon the top surface of a green brick, and the arms 12 and 13 are moved respectively in opposite directions, the needles 16 will pierce the brick from their top surfaces and continue to penetrate the brick material until the arms 12 and 13 reach the limit of their movement, or until the lateral flanges 14- and 15 respectively contact lwith the top of the stripper 10. ln this position the lifting needles are firmly in engagement with the green brick, and as the Vapparatus is lifted the brick 'Will be carried upwardly with it. .lhen the brick is transferred to the car or other desired position, by moving the lever arms 12 and 13 in a direction to Withdraw the needles 16 from engagement with the brick, the stripper 10 acts to hold the brick firmly in its relative position dur# ing such releasing action, and When the needlesv are Withdrawn the apparatus may then be freely lifted from the brick and the operation repeated. r1`he lever arms 12 and v 13 may be operated by hand, but l have provided means toV operate the entire series of such levers in a liftingy apparatus simultaneously, and by a single movement. It will be understood that brackets 7 and 8, pivot 9, and a pair of oppositely acting levers, similar to those just described, are arranged in suitable position to engage each successive brick longitudinally of the apparatus, `which the apparatus is intended to be capable of lifting. Each sueh'pair of levers may be of sufficient length transversely of the entire apparatus to cover the several streams of brick material, as already explained. lJivoted to the upper portions of each arm 12 (which operate the right hand needles 16) at 19 is a bar 20, and this bar has attached thereto a link 21, pivoted at 22 to the piston 28 of a com.,- pressed air or hydraulic cylinder 2e, which cylinder may be conveniently pivoted at 25 to the framework of the apparatus. Movement of the piston 23 will act to reciprocate the bar 2O and tok operate all the levers 12 at the same time, thus lforcing the needles at the right hand end of each brick into the top surface of the brick, or Withdrawing them therefrom, as Will be readily understood. A similar bar 26 is arranged to be pivotally connected as by pivots 27 Withthe other lever arms 13 of each opposing needle-carrying device, so that the needles at the left of each brick may be similarly operated to enga-ge or disengage the brick. A corresponding link 28, piston 29 and cylinder 30 are provided to similarly actuate the bar 26. Both the cylinders 24; and y30 may be operated simultaneously to either force the lifting needle 16 into engagement with the top surface of the brick to be lifted, or to release such needle lifteis simple `and efficient.

.the brick.

The operation of my lifting device is vary The apparatus is swung, by means of a lifting crane or the like, into position over the four streams of brick material as the same are being conveyed by the olf-bearing belt from the wire cutting device, the guard 1l being swung into engagement with the side of one row 31 of the green brick, and the entire device may then be quickly lowered until the stripper on each bracket rests upon the top surfaces of the other streams of brick 32, 33 and 311, a sufficient length of brick material to suit the length of the apparatus having first been permitted to form on the off-bearing belt of the brick-making machine. When so positioned, the needles 16 are in raised position, so that their respective points are above the face of their adjacent strippers 10. Thereupon the pistons 24 and 30 are simultaneously actuated by a supply `of compressed air, or any suitable means (not shown), and the bars 2O and 26 are simultaneouslyI moved in 4opposite directions and the series of levers pivoted to each bar are rocked upon their respective pivots 9, so that the series of needles 16 will be forced into the green brick until in holding position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The apparatus may then be lifted and the entire series of brick in all four streams of brick material, and throughout the entire length of the apparatus, will be simultaneously lifted from the off-bearing belt, and transferred to another position, such as on the carv or platform to be moved into the drier. When deposited` in the new location, the pistons 4are moved in reverse direction, and the needles 16 are simultaneously withdrawn from the brick material, each stripper 10 serving to hold the brick engaged by it firmly in position during the removal of the needle lifters. Thereupon the entire Y 'apparatus may be raised from the brick and `be swung over the off-bearing belt to repeat the operation when a sufficient number of brick for its length are ready to be lifted.

By means of this apparatus for lifting l brick entirely from the top surface, I am enabled to facilitate the mechanical hacking operation, as 1t 1s much easier and speedler to pile successive rows of brick in a stack when such brick are being lifted entirely from above, as it is a simpler method of both picking up and depositing the brick so lifted. Also great speed in such mechanical hacking is possible in handling the successive rows of brick entirely from above, and consequently theentire brick-making operation is greatly accelerated. These advantages will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, and the importance of handling such brick from above, over former methods of side clamping and lifting by engagement of the brick from underneath, will be apparent. Also, by means of my apparatus, I am enabled to lift at one time a very great number of green brick, the power of the cylinders 24 and 30 and the number of pairs of needle lifting levers being only limited to having the length of the entire apparatus too unwieldy for the best and speediest operating.

l/Vhile my invention is mainly intended for mechanically hacking by handling the brick entirely from above and through engagement of the needle lifters at the top surface only of the brick, yet I believe that handling brick by means of wire-like members or needles, adapted to penetrate the brick and to hold and lift such brick thereby, is broadly new, and I wish to claim this feature broadly. It would be feasible to engage each brick by means of the needle lifters arranged to enter at either side, for eX- ample, or either end of the individual brick,V

and also to operate such needles in a manner other than on the arc of a circle. My invention also contemplates the use of straight needle lifting devices, which may conveniently be operated in slides and positioned to pierce the brick material at an angle of degrees, for example, and thereby secure a firm lifting engagement upon the brick. The provision of the stripper 10 is of considerable importance, as this insures the Jae-NM.

curate piercing of the brick by the needle lifters adjacent each stripper, and also facilitates the removal of the needles while serving to prevent distortion of the green brick during the entire operation. As the needles enmloyed may be of relatively small diameter. the holes left in the top surface of the brick after withdrawal of the needles 16 may be scarcely noticeable, and this face of the brick may be turned inwardly or buried in plaster or mortar, so that the bricks thus lifted are in no way defaced, marred or rendered undesirable.

The novel processof handling bricks by means of this apparatus is not herein specifically claimed, being described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 733,979, filed November 29, 1912, of which this application is a division. I do not claim the brick formed with the perforations therein, as herein illustrated and explained, said brick being described and claimed as an article of manufacture in my copending application Serial No. 734,460, filed December 2, 1912.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a brick-lifting' apparatus, means to engage and to lift a plurality of brick, comprising a plurality of pairs of needle like devices to penetrate each brick from its tcp ics ' surface, iweombinaton with a? guard Ito con- Y tact-\vitli tlie'sid'e of the brick to be lifted.

the green brick said needles being yindependently movable into yeng-raging position to se- `cure av lifting grip on' tliebrick and movable to inoperative position, to release they vbrick, in'.combin'ationivitlimeans to guard tlie needles when in finoperative (position.

r romcontact with the brick and to act as a Y guide to aline said lifting` needles relativelyv` tivo subscribing` Witnesses.

with Lthe Y brick.

3; Ina brick lifting/apparatus of the kindl described, means to engage and lift a plu-V I-rality of brick in a plurality of streams. of

' brick material, comprising'guidng means to 'Gopies of this patent may be obtained. foi

f position the appa 1atus `over saidplurality of streams otcbrick, a pivoted shaft, a plurality of needle-like devices arranged liniopvp'ositely acting pairs, eacli pair being pivotedion lsaid Vshaft and spaced tol enable aipair to engage other to engage and release the brick.

^ lin testimony whereof, IV have signed `my name to thi specic'ation, in tlie Ypresence of i RAYMND C. PENFIELD.

Witnesses: p

i S. KaSMAnT,

C. RMERTENS.

ve 'cents' each, by addressing the Commissioner fof l'E'atents,

Nashingtng D. C. 

